


Come Freely, Go Safely

by nativemossy



Series: The Light of All Lights [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Fortune Telling, M/M, Magical Realism, Oblivious Tony Stark, Vampire!Bucky, Vampires, Witches, t+ tag is for cursing, witch!Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 13:45:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16265432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nativemossy/pseuds/nativemossy
Summary: Every week Bucky showed up, right in the lull between the afternoon window shoppers and the evening rush. He sat himself in the chair right in front of the front desk, requested a fortune, and waited patiently. He received his fortune, thanked Tony, left an absolutely outrageous tip, then left. Tony wasn’t sure why he kept showing up, the fortune was pretty much the same every week.Death, and lots of it.(or, where tony stark is too occupied being gay and in love to notice that the guy he likes isn't quite right)





	Come Freely, Go Safely

**Author's Note:**

> “Once again...welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring.”  
> ― Bram Stoker, Dracula
> 
> Look i just wanted to write something halloween-esque and I guess 3am me is a prompt genius

          “Come on dude, really?” Tony whined, leaning his chair back against the wall. “Go home man.” He stared up at the scruffy man, from his worn boots to the long-sleeved shirt he wore like a second skin. He had been showing up in the shop for damn near five weeks now, on every Tuesday afternoon without fail. Tony scrubbed a hand over his eyes, feeling the first tender press of a headache against his skull.

          Bucky looked around the crowded walls of the shop with barely hidden amusement, grinning at the theatrics. He walked up to the solid desk, scanning the numerous trinkets and scraps that littered the space. He picked up a pendant, spinning it around in the light. “This is new.” He stated, thumbing the rune lightly for a moment before setting it back on the polished wood.

          Tony stiffened slightly, leaning the chair back to the ground before beginning to clear the workspace, leaving a clear space in front of himself. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to touch things that don’t belong to you?” he retorted haughtily, snagging the charm and pocketing it. He glanced up to see Bucky grinning down at him, the corners of his eyes crinkled up endearingly. He quickly looked back to his hands, moving mechanically to open a drawer to his left.

          Tony was never sure why Barnes kept coming back. The first time he showed up at his door, looking large and intimidating and out of place in the cramped shop, he asked for a fortune. Nothing else, no specific method, no area of focus, just a plain fortune. Perplexed, Tony gestured him in, sitting him down as he shuffled his tarot deck methodically. He laid down three cards -- past, present, and future -- and then flipped them over. What was there was not good.

          The Fool, the 10 Of Wands, and Death, some very poor cards all in all. Tony attempted to make the resulting fortune as hopeful as possible, citing that perhaps this gruff stranger was simply in a period of great change and growth, and was purging areas of his life that required removal. The brunet gave him a scathing look in response, so he supposed that there was little hope in that. Tony had charged him for the reading, the man left a generous tip, and life went on. Tony figured that would be the last he saw of him.

          Tony just happened to be wrong.

          Every week Bucky showed up, right in the lull between the afternoon window shoppers and the evening rush. He sat himself in the chair right in front of the front desk, requested a fortune, and waited patiently. He received his fortune, thanked Tony, left an absolutely outrageous tip, then left. Tony wasn’t sure why he kept showing up, the fortune was pretty much the same every week.

          Death, and lots of it.

          Tony was honestly shocked that James “Call Me Bucky” Barnes hadn’t shown up in the obituary section of the papers by now. He normally wasn’t so morbid as to check, but once he gives a death omen more than twice.

          Well suffice to say that those poor bastards never did last long.

          Yet through all of that, Bucky still showed up on time for his weekly fortune. He looked a little frayed around the edges, maybe a bit tired, but overall as healthy as could be. It was quite baffling.

          “Well,” Barnes began, pulling out the stool and sitting heavily upon it. “You stopped charging me after the, uh,” He paused, pretending to think. His face was carefully blank, but his eyes danced with mirth, “Probably around the third death threat.”

          “They’re not threats!” Tony squawked, tugging a lumpy bag out of one of the numerous drawers that lined the wall. “I told you two weeks ago to stop coming for my fucking faulty fortunes. It's not my expertise and it shows.” He finished his rant with a sigh, unceremoniously dumping the bag onto the table. A handful of small, lumpy bones spilled out, each seeming to glow vaguely in the soft light. “I’m not gonna charge you for a dud prediction.”

          “I think you cast my fortune just fine,” Bucky muttered, picking up a bone and weighing it in his hand. “dragon knuckles, these are pretty rare.”

          Tony frowned, then snagged the bone out of his hand, tossing it in the pile and shifting it all around. “Take a few bones, yeah like that,” He grinned as Bucky scooped up a few, rolling them around in his palm with a patient smile. “Now,” He began as he cleared the rest of the bones back into their pouch, “Toss ‘em back on the table.”

          “That doesn’t seem like a very professional direction,” Bucky commented, obediently letting his bones roll out onto the table. As they spun to a stop Tony examined them, frowning at the glossed surface of the knuckles. “Well?” Bucky asked, startling Tony out of his daze. “What are the bones telling ya, doll?”

          Tony rolled his eyes, scooping the bones on the table into his bag as well. He turned to put them away, tying the drawstring of the bag as he went. “Did you know you have the absolutely worst luck I’ve ever seen? And I knew a guy who snubbed a luck spirit in college. You don’t want that shit hanging over you man, they play dirty and not in the good way.” He slid the drawer shut, spinning around and wheeling his chair back to where Bucky sat leaned against the counter. “You don’t have a family curse, do you? Because I don’t do that shit.”

          Bucky threw his head back and laughed. As his shoulders shook Tony found himself entranced, gazing longingly at the long line of Bucky’s neck, the graceful collarbones that led to strong shoulders. Tony snapped out of it when he felt Bucky’s eyes on him, the clear blue depths shining warmly at him. “No, my family isn’t cursed Tony,”

          Tony squinted skeptically in response, inciting another wave of chuckles out of the other man. “Are you sure?” He demanded, grabbing a business card out of the organized container he kept on the counter. “Because I know someone who can take care of that for you.” He slid the card across the table, grinning helplessly as Bucky began to laugh harder. “Tell her I sent you, she’ll give you a discount.”

          Bucky laughed for a good few seconds longer, wiping his eyes while his shoulders still shook. “Seriously Tones, I don’t need that card,” He stated, his voice shaky with laughter. He made an obvious attempt to still his shoulders and temper his grin, but magnificantly failed, grinning openly back at Tony. Tony rolled his eyes in response, feeling a smile fighting its way onto his face.

          Tony lost himself for a second, trailing his eyes over high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and hair that swept perfectly over a face that looked warmly back, handsome and proud and for all the world feeling more like coming home than any house ever had. He felt himself snap to awareness when Bucky cleared his throat, looking insufferably smug.

          Tony rolled his eyes, snatching the card and returning it to it’s proper spot. He paused a moment, then fished the charm out of his pocket, tossing it on the table in front of Bucky. He leaned his chin on his hand as the brunet scooped up the pendent, turning it over a couple times in his palm. “Its a spell of protection,” Tony sighed, letting the tension bleed out of his shoulders. “It’s pretty general, but maybe it’ll warn off whatever’s trying so bad to off you.” Bucky raised a skeptical eyebrow at this, looking doubtful. “No promises,” Tony continued, “But it is free of charge.”

          “I’m telling you Tony, I really don’t need any of this.” Bucky sighed, tucking the charm in his pocket with a fond air.

          “So what’s the secret then?” He demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. “You obviously must know something, so share with the class my burly friend.”

          “Burly?” Bucky recoiled, looking down at himself in shock. “I’m not burly! I’m buff! Fit!”

          Tony laughed, “Of all the things you could take offense to, burly is it? You have to admit you’ve got a bit of the ‘spooky lumberjack in the woods’ vibe to you.” He gestured up and down Barnes’ body, choosing to ignore where his biceps strained the seams of the ancient henley he wore. “But seriously,” Tony digressed, tapping his fingers against the counter with nerves. “What is it?”

          Bucky grinned again, bringing up his hand to point at one gleaming canine tooth, looking suspiciously sharp in the waning afternoon light. Tony felt himself gasp, staring in disbelief.

          Holy shit that made so much more sense.

          Hooooooooly shit.

          Bucky grinned wider, transforming into a full on smirk. He stood with a small grunt, and while Tony was still dealing with what might possibly be the biggest realization of his natural born life, he opened his wallet, pulled out a fifty, stuffed it in the tip jar, and planted a soft kiss on Tony’s cheek. As soon as Tony realized what was happening, Bucky was already opening the front door, the bell ringing cheerfully as the brisk outside air flowed in.

          “See you next week!” The vampire called, shutting the door softly behind him. Tony could do nothing but gape after him, processing in the silence of the now empty shop.

**Author's Note:**

> come join me on [tumblr](https://nativemossy.tumblr.com/)! I love talking to folks, don't be shy!
> 
> thanks for reading!


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